(no subject)

[brooksmoses]

Some time ago, tiger_spot and I were talking about cars, and she observed that pretty much anything that amounted to "character" in a car was really a euphemism for something wrong with it.

I'm not entirely sure how much I agree with that statement, but I think this blog post is pure distilled essence of the ways in which it's true.

Comments

[rosefox]

Thank you for that link. I'm kind of angry and frustrated at the moment and it was good to laugh.

[green-knight.livejournal.com]

I used to have a '68 beetle, which definitely won in the 'character' stakes, and I don't think it was solely a question of 'something wrong with.'

Sigh. I wish I could have kept it (and restored it, which, ahem, it needed by that time).

Had to grin at the article though. I've just addressed the front skirt on my Golf by the 'break it' method: one side had come off, so the whole thing was dragging on the ground. The screw on the other side was so eaten up that I could not loosen it; so the answer was a well-applied STOMP. Oh, well...

[quercus.livejournal.com]

It's not far from the "You aren't a real petrolhead until you've owned an Alfa Romeo" statement.

(4 of them, since you ask. The ugliest (yes, one of the ugly Alfas, a 75) was also one of the best cars I've ever owned to drive.)

[hrj.livejournal.com]

I came to a similar conclusion back 20 years ago when I was shopping for a house for my parents and I to buy. Every time I started talking about a candidate having "character" my father started asking for an estimate of the repair bills.

[aedifica]

Yeah. I rented in a house that had character, and it was a nice place to live since I wasn't responsible for the upkeep. Wouldn't have wanted to own it.

do nothing/ kitchen fixes

[cobalt-00.livejournal.com]

... I suppose duct tape counts as being a repair tool found in a kitchen drawer. I conducted a great many repairs with duct tape. For example, when the motor on the passenger side window failed, I yanked the window up and held it shut with duct tape. I kept it there for about a year until I could afford a new window motor. When the plastic skirt underneath the hood (a splashguard, I think) tore off on one side, duct tape was the solution.

It was occasionally the solution on the side of the road, which meant I kept the duct tape and the latex gloves in the glove compartment so I could continue to drive home with clean hands.

I can't remember now if I ever posted the final list of what was wrong with the car in the last month before I gave it away, but I think it went along the lines of:
-broken back struts (ignored for a year)
-muffler had a hole in it (replaced it eventually)
-back door kept trying to seize (ignored)
-no air conditioning (ignored)
-airbag light flashing (sensor was hinky, always meant to fix that)
-dome light non-functional below zero (ignored)
-locks tended to freeze shut below -10 deg C (crawled in through trunk instead)
-link kit and ball joints holding on by a thread (replaced, under threat of death)
-wheel bearings on front tires gone (gave up. I'd replaced them the year before. Gave car away.)

However, the demolition derby car that I drove was probably in worse shape.

Re: do nothing/ kitchen fixes

[mapache]

You've driven in a demolition derby?!?

Re: do nothing/ kitchen fixes

[cobalt-00.livejournal.com]

Yep - it was earlier this year, before I moved here. It was a lot of fun and I'm told the wreck that ended the life of many important engine parts was rather spectacular.

[micheinnz.livejournal.com]

I'm reminded of this conversation between friends a couple of years ago:

"Your cars always have... character."

"Yeah. The cheaper they are, the more character they have."